CHICAGO — Restricted free agent forward Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls have agreed to a six-year contract that could be worth as much as $80 million.
The Bulls e-mailed a news release Wednesday afternoon announcing the “contract signing of Luol Deng.” No details on the deal were released.
General manager John Paxson did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press.
The new deal was reported earlier by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and ESPN.com, which said the contract would include $71 million in guaranteed money.
Deng averaged 17 points and 6.3 rebounds last season, while shooting 47.9 percent. That marked a drop from 2006-07, when he scored 18 points a game with 7.1 rebounds, while making 51.7 percent of his shots. Deng had rejected a five-year contract extension last October that was worth $57.5 million.
A four-year pro out of Duke, the 6-foot-9 Deng has career averages of 15.6 points and 6.4 rebounds.
After three straight playoff appearances and a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Bulls faltered in 2007-08, finishing 33-49 in a season that saw both head coach Scott Skiles and interim coach Jim Boylan lose their jobs.
The Bulls are hoping Deng will be a big part of their future along with Derrick Rose, a guard out of Memphis selected by Chicago with the No. 1 pick in last month’s draft.
Guard Ben Gordon, who rejected a five-year, $50 million contract before last season, also is a restricted free agent.
PISTONS: The Detroit Pistons have signed free agent guard Will Bynum. Terms of the deal were not released.
Bynum averaged 11.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists in the Las Vegas Summer League. The 6-foot, 185-pound guard played last season for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli League.
Bynum was named 2005-06 NBA Development League rookie of the year after averaging a league-best 24 points per game with the Roanoke Dazzle. He played 15 games with the Golden State Warriors that season, averaging 3.6 points and 1.3 assists per game.
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